Henry Tilney

Henry Tilney
Biographical Information
Gender	Male
Marital status	Married to Catherine Morland Tilney
Primary residence	Woodston (current) Northanger Abbey (former residence, in youth)
Relationships
Family members	General Tilney (father) & Mrs. Tilney (late mother) Frederick Tilney & Eleanor Tilney (siblings) Mr. Drummond (maternal grandfather) Richard Morland and Mrs. Morland (father and mother in law) James Morland, Sarah Morland, six others (siblings in law)
Romantic interest(s)	Catherine Morland (wife)

"The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid."

—Henry Tilney to Catherine Morland

Henry Tilney is a main character in Northanger Abbey. He is married to Catherine Morland Tilney.

Character traits

A widely read clergyman in his early 20s, the youngest son of the wealthy Tilney family. He is Catherine's romantic interest throughout Northanger Abbey, and during the course of the plot he comes to return her feelings.

He is sarcastic, intuitive, fairly handsome and clever, given to witticisms and light flirtations (which Catherine is not always able to understand or reciprocate in kind), but he also has a sympathetic nature (he is a good brother to Eleanor), which leads him to take a liking to Catherine's naïve straightforwardness. Henry expresses his dislike for the deceptions and niceties of high society and so finds Catherine refreshing, enjoying her company and earnest way of expressing herself. Their relationship is notable for its simplicity, Henry coming to love Catherine for her sincerity and innocent affection.

Henry, while having an uneasy relationship with his father and brother, expresses great love towards his late mother. He is also very fond of his sister Eleanor Tilney, the two spending much time together and acting as companions under the control of their father. Henry has a great understanding of women's interests and pastimes, notably knowledgeable in the area of women's fashions and being trusted by his sister to pick out dresses for her.

Unlike his father, Henry doesn't believe that money is all that is needed in life. However, Henry generally doesn't go against his father, until Catherine is thrown, unceremoniously, from Northanger Abbey, and Henry goes to Fullerton to make sure Catherine arrived safely, to apologise for his father's behavior and to propose to Catherine, who accepts. Henry has a good understanding of social politics and notes that within the marriage market "man has the advantage of choice, woman only the power of refusal".

Henry is unwilling to get involved in his elder brother, Captain Frederick Tilney's, affair with Isabella Thorpe, who at that point is engaged to Catherine's elder brother, James Moreland. Instead, Henry tries to draw Catherine's attention away from the flirting Isabella, as he believes that nothing is going on. However when Catherine's letter from her brother upsets her and she requests that "if your brother (Captain Tilney) should be coming here, you will give me notice of it, that I may go away", Henry immediately guessed that it involved Isabella Thorpe.